Ronquillo used neighbourhood information from Edmonton’s open-data catalogue to categorize the diners by location, and then pulled inspection reports from Alberta Health Services. The app uses different coloured circles with either a frown or a smile to indicate whether the inspection report was good or bad for a particular restaurant. An eatery that has tallied six infractions earns a red circle with a big frown on it, while one with no infractions gets a green circle with a big smile on it.

Ronquillo said the idea came to him after searching for an Italian restaurant to take his wife to for dinner. “I was curious about the inspection report for it. I found the (AHS) website for it, but I wanted one that would show up on a map. I figured if I would use a website like that, so would other people, so I built it.”

He doesn’t endorse or disapprove of any of the diners or restaurants on the app. That is an individual decision, Ronquillo said.

In addition to a cash prize, Ronquillo will get to exhibit his app at the GTEC, Canada’s government technology conference, in Ottawa next month.

Other winners include Eugene Chen, who developed an app to display statistical information about the city, and Sean Healy and Joel Jackson, who developed an app to display bus times at bus stops.

Liam Britten

Liam Britten is a writer and editor with a journalism background operating out of Vancouver. In addition to his work at Techvibes, he has been published in student publications across Canada, as well as local newspapers such as The MapleRidge-Pitt Meadows TIMES and The Langley Advance.
An aficionado for the finer things in life — such as video games and sports — Liam is plugged into the tech...
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